Friday, May 18, 2007
Page 3
Attorney Allan Gabriel Joins Dykema’s Local Office
By TINA BAY, Staff Writer
Thirty-year intellectual property veteran Allan Gabriel has joined the Los Angeles office of Midwest-based Dykema as a member in its intellectual property litigation practice group.
Gabriel, who had been a partner in the local office of New York’s Brown Raysman for over four years before it merged with San Francisco-based Thelen Reid & Priest last December, said the combination prompted him to leave now-Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner.
“When something like that occurs, in large part you’re working with new people and it’s almost like you’re joining a new firm,” he told the MetNews. “I thought it was an appropriate occasion to consider what other new firms would I be interested in joining.”
Saying he was “very happy” to be with Dykema’s 18-lawyer downtown office, which is about one-third the size of his former firm’s Century City office, he noted he was “very impressed” with the strength and depth of Dykema’s intellectual property team.
“The firm has a very strong client base of some fortune 500 companies which is important, and I hope to expand that relationship in terms of helping to bring work to the West Coast,” he said.
Craig N. Hentschel, a partner in Dykema’s intellectual property practice and managing member of the firms’ local office, said Gabriel’s lengthy experience and reputation in intellectual property law make him a “valuable addition” to the firm, which is known for its business and litigation practice.
On top of his great breadth of experience, Hentschel said, Gabriel brings expertise in the area of rights of publicity and trademark matters.
“Allan fits a strategic need for us for the continued growth of that practice both nationally and in Southern California,” he remarked.
Gabriel, 60, began practicing intellectual property with the Beverly Hills firm of Ervin, Cohen & Jessup, where he worked from 1977 to 1991. He had previously worked for two years at a firm in New Jersey after graduating from Rutgers University School of Law.
Calling his start in intellectual property “fascinating,” he explained:
“When I moved here in 1977, two major IP-related events happened: Elvis Presley died that year and the first Star Wars movie came out. I started working on several matters related to Elvis Presley’s right of publicity, and in connection with Star Wars, I did work related to rights in certain movie posters related to the film.”
From that, he said, flowed many different types of intellectual property matters, particularly in the area of trademarks and trade secrets. His early clients included those in the fashion and jeans industry and perfume maker Giorgio.
Eventually, he said, he became involved in patent litigation.
Between his terms at Ervin, Cohen & Jessup and Brown Raysman, he spent 11 years practicing at Gabriel & Herman LLP in Century City—an approximately 20-lawyer firm he co-founded in 1991.
As a patent litigator, he said dealing with a wide range of products and businesses—which have included video poker and other games, golf clubs and frozen ice cream—is “very interesting.” He added that he likes the challenging and hi-stakes nature of complex patent litigation
Gabriel is a member of the Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association.
Copyright 2007, Metropolitan News Company